Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcela Ramos Castillo.
Marcela, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Despite the considerable challenges that my family faced as working-class immigrants from Mexico, they noticed my proclivity for art and dedicated many of their resources towards my artistic pursuits. I was also fortunate to have my skills nurtured and strengthened by the amazing art programs at Bak Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos School of the Arts (DSOA). I attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island on scholarship, where I studied illustration, initially intending to pursue a career in commercial art, likely in the video game industry. However, I found that my true passion was in a self-driven, independent art practice, a realization that set the course for what I do now. Shortly after receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2014, I was hired as an artist in residence at DSOA and was later hired as a full-time teacher in the visual arts department, where I continue to teach today. I acquired a studio space with Zero Empty Spaces, run by the wonderful Andrew Martineau and Evan Snow, which has allowed me to expand the scope of my body of work. In 2023, I had my first solo exhibition at Mtn Space Gallery in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. As I continue to develop my artist practice in tandem with teaching my students, I look forward to deepening my connection to my local art community and beyond.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In short, absolutely not. I believe that creating art is the intentional practice of failure. Failure, because there will never be a point at which I’ve reached absolute satisfaction. Art is an infinite exploration, and this motivates me to continue making work despite setbacks, rejections, and periods of time when I can’t be in the studio. Balancing my teaching job, studio practice, and the responsibilities of family and everyday life takes up a lot of mental, physical, and, I dare say, spiritual energy, and it is easy to fall into a pit of exhaustion. Through lots of trial and error, I’ve found a balance that has allowed me to thrive and to live a life worth making art about. I’ve learned that patience, adaptability, gratitude, and resilience are essential qualities for staying the course as an artist. Getting my work noticed by supportive people, patrons, and institutions requires putting my work out there publicly, which means applying to various open calls and publications. While results in repeated rejection, it only takes one person to say “yes,” and that can mean getting a show, selling a painting, or simply having a new supporter. When I was younger, I felt self-conscious about labeling myself an artist, partly because I internalized the message that only those who live off of their work were qualified to use the title. This is far from the truth, but it won’t stop many from calling my vocation a hobby. Ultimately, the person who must take your art most seriously is yourself, and this commitment has kept me focused on my artistic goals, no matter the circumstances.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Of late, I’ve primarily focused my efforts on figurative oil painting. I’m interested in the spaces we construct with and within our bodies as we navigate a rapidly evolving world, one in which we are frequently asked to disconnect from our conscious selves. In my artist practice, I explore marginalization through the lens of mundanity, intimacy, satire, and emotion. My personal experiences directly inform the figurative subjects and narratives that I choose to document, including representations of family, friends, lovers, and composites from my imagination. I think of painting and the human figure as chronometric devices, where the encapsulation of gestures, marks, and layered pigment, in conjunction with symbolic color, mysterious spectres, and everyday environments, exist in multiple emotional tenses, allowing for the observation of these relationships and a means to reflect on them through interpreting the narratives on the canvas. I’m heavily influenced by the literary works of William Faulkner and James Joyce, writers whose stories are just as much about what is unsaid and what cannot be communicated through language.
When I’m approached about my work, I often hear remarks regarding the naturalistic aspects of my figures, the large scale, the mysterious narratives, and the use of vibrant color, the latter of which is significantly influenced by the Floridian landscape. I’m proud of the fact that my work has steadily gained an audience and that it seems to leave an impression on those who view it. If anything sets me apart, I would want it to be the earnestness with which I approach my work, as I strive to authentically depict experiences that people can relate to. These experiences run across a spectrum of joy, sorrow, and all the feelings outside and in between them. My mission is to lean into all of it.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
First, I’d like to thank anyone who took the time to read about my work, as sharing it with others is most important to me. Second, art is an integral part of all of our lives, so ubiquitous that I fear it is taken for granted, particularly now when many public art programs are disappearing around the country and in our very own community. In times of peace and turmoil, art provides a tether to our own humanity and, for it to thrive, requires the support and protection of us all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marcelaramoscastillo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcee_rc/?hl=en
